作為救贖的等待──中國哲學場域「聖王崇拜」的起源、結構與原理

Waiting as Salvation: The Origin, Structure and Principle of 'Sage King Worship' in the Field of Chinese Philosophy

中國哲學場域中對於「聖王」的期待，是一種朝向永恆回歸的等待；這樣的等待讓人願意相信未來趨向美好的可能，但卻也讓人永恆地在等待―因為「聖王」永遠在歷史之中，是以便形成中國哲學場域中存有一種期待聖王的想望，卻也永恆地失落與焦慮。這是中國哲學場域中崇古意識型態在政治上的衍化，也是其建構秩序的一種心理結構。這樣的心理結構產生於軸心時代的政治混亂以及孔子的述古思維，在中國哲學場域產生的崇古與聖王崇拜之定錨效應。於此，存有對於社會秩序的期待寄託在「聖王」之上，然而「聖王」永恆地存在於過去而不在於當下；也使得存有永恆地在等待聖王。或許正是此一永恆的等待，讓存有有期待更好的自我與家國的可能―因為永恆意味著，在有限的存有消逝之前，存有永遠都能抱著成聖的希望、對於聖王的期望；在等待的當下就意味著存有具有持續修身與聖王治世的踏實感。因為對於中國哲學場域中的存有而言，等待不再只是等待，而是永恆回歸的等待，使等待即進入了救贖的當下。

The expectation of the 'Sage King' in the field of Chinese philosophy is in a way waiting for eternal recurrence; such waiting makes people willing to believe in the possibility of a better future. But the waiting may be forever because the 'Sage King' has always been there. Consequently, there has always been the expectation of the sage king, which causes people to be eternally lost and anxious. This is the political evolution of the ancient ideology in the field of Chinese philosophy, as well as a psychological structure for constructing order. This psychological structure arises from the political chaos of the Axial Age and Confucius' narrative thinking, and produces the anchoring effect of the worship of ancient thought and of the sage king in the field of Chinese philosophy. Here, the expectation of social order of the existence rests on the 'Sage King,' but the 'Sage King' exists eternally in the past and not in the present; as a result, the existence must wait for the sage king forever. Perhaps it is this eternal waiting that makes it possible to look forward to the possibility of a better self and homeland, because eternity means that before finite beings die, they can always hold on to the hope of sanctification and to the expectation of the sage king. The moment of waiting means that the existence offers the reassurance of continuous self-cultivation and the sage king's governance of the world. For the beings in the field of Chinese philosophy, waiting is no longer just waiting, but waiting for eternal recurrence, making waiting enter the moment of salvation.